6 Unconventional steps to finding new real estate clients

6 Unconventional steps to finding new real estate clients

Even in the expected high-churn realty landscape of the ‘new-normal’ COVID era, realtors will have to keep finding new leads,  We’ve always relied on the old-school basics because they work, and will continue to work, but the pandemic has caused an unprecedented shift towards buying everything and anything online. Clients will increasingly turn to the internet to buy or sell their homes.

Many realtors are still charmingly non-techy, but our days of just finding recipes on the internet or chatting on Facebook is officially over.  The future realty giants will be the ones who take a deep breath and a deep dive into technology because everyone, including our prospective clients, is now using the Internet in ways we never anticipated. If we hesitate, we will lose.

To re-state the ages-old marketing problem for this new environment:

• Identifying the right audience on whom to focus your efforts 
• Building a platform to carry your personal message to solid leads after you find them. 
• Following through by delivering the right message to each one at exactly the right time

Here’s how we can combine familiar lead generation techniques with the inexorable shift to online business to create unconventional ways to find new real estate clients in the COVID new-normal landscape. 

1. Step 1. Use the information highway

If information is power, you’ve just been turned into Superman. You may have used databases like MLS or Tax Records before, but the internet contains an immense amount of much more valuable information that is readily and legally available and will enable you to identify the right audience for your efforts.

Data aggregator and people search websites continuously gather and analyze mind-boggling volumes of information, and then put together clean, complete, in-depth profiles of prospective clients for all market segments.

Nuwber is a data aggregator site where you can find information about prospective clients in specific target areas, or look for people with the type of consumer profile that would be valuable to you. Nuwber consolidates data such as phone numbers, property records, job titles, addresses, and lifestyle activities from information sources across the internet. They make use of official records, publicly available information, consumer behavior, and social media profiles.

The Nuwber databases contain information on millions of people, stored in a useful format, and presented as highly accurate personal profiles that allow marketers to match interests and identify opportunities. 

We can conclude that Problem 1 has been taken care of, as identifying the right audience on whom to focus our efforts has never been easier.  

1. Step 2. Get a website. Seriously. Right now

Marketing means finding a way to convince prospective clients to do business with you, and only you.  Commercial real estate firms have marketing support divisions whose staff provide standard promotional and marketing materials. Generally, you’ll also have a web page with your portfolio, bio, and contact details on the firm’s website. 

A webpage is not enough, and cannot build your ability to carry your message to your solid leads when you’ve finally found them. 

There is a vast difference between a web page and a website. Your bio on the company website provides a snapshot of your skills, specialty field, and current listings, but traffic to your web page depends on the traffic going to your firm’s website. Additionally, the information on your page is too limited to make you stand out in the crowd. 

1. Step 3. Use a locally-focused content marketing approach

Become the ultimate expert on your area and niche. Research each neighborhood thoroughly and use the information as website content. As a bonus, you'll easily field future awkward questions without having to ‘get back to you on that one’. 

Post useful statistics like average days on market (DOM), the absorption rate, percentage of list, and interesting statistical tidbits from in a ‘Did you know’ section. Revising these figures regularly is a fantastic way to keep yourself fighting fit for the competition in your area.

1. Step 4. Now raise your public profile

New articles for your blog section is not just good SEO, but a way to reach local publications who are always eager for fresh local content. A few great articles will build trust with investors, local businesses, local contractors, and the local inhabitants – your future clients. 

Editors who publish your articles will often link back to your website, thereby providing extra website traffic.  Website reporting tools will show you who reacts to your content, and this information can be analyzed in astonishing detail.

1. Step 5. Social media goes live

Facebook and LinkedIn may already be familiar as marketing tools. Now step up your efforts with the live marketing channels on Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube as a much more effective means of reaching clients than random posting.

Facebook and Instagram marketing algorithms love live streams. ‘Go live’ on your smartphone when you preview a listing, host an open house, or visit an interesting part of a neighborhood. Some live-time once or twice a week will convey your passion ‘in person’ to prospective clients, and you’ll quickly gain new followers. Reporting tools similar to your website data tools can analyze your performance to a granular level.

Get locals’ attention with fun clips of local businesses, people, and your listings. You’ll reach entirely new audiences, and as an added benefit, video content on your website will also improve its ranking. 

1. Step 6: Use the internet as a communication tool

It’s time to follow through, to approach each lead with the right message at the right time. People buy from people. Throughout history, and for the rest of eternity, people will do business with the people they trust. 

By now, your website has helped to establish yourself as an authority in the local real estate market. You’ve been showcasing your knowledge, your know-how, your passion, and your ethics. You’ve positioned yourself as a knowledgeable, savvy agent who never misses the opportunity to do right by her clients.

Using your established platform, you can now confidently reach out from a position of strength. By combining Nuwber’s data with the reports from your website and social media engagements, you’ll be able to deliver messages that resonate on a personal level with the people who receive them. 

In the new realty landscape, we’ll rely heavily on technology to help us tailor the best approach to certain segments of the market, or to put together the best proposition for specific clients. 

There’s some irony in the fact that technology has become the best way to shape personal appeal. Nevertheless, we may just be able to adapt well enough to trust technology to generate those new leads that are the lifeblood of the industry.